In Oakland Politics news, this question: who’s running for what 2020 Oakland City Council Elections Seat?
If you think it’s too early to ask that question, consider this: Sheng Thao, who won last year’s hotly contested Oakland City Council District 4 Seat Race, has already established her “Sheng Thao for Oakland City Council 2022” FPPC 501 and FPPC 410 files at the Oakland Elections Website. The files state candidate intent to run and acceptance of campaign spending limits – but this is for 2022.
Ok, we now know that Councilmember Sheng Thao’s fully in for a reelection run in 2022, but who’s running for releection in 2020?
Oakland Councilmembers Dan Kalb, Lynette Gibson McElhaney, and Larry Reid are all up for reelection in District One, District Three, and District Seven, respectively.
If you read the Oakland Elections Website and assumed that none of them were running for reelection because you didn’t see their names, that would be an error.
The way the system works, it’s automatically assumed the incumbent’s on the ballot for the next term until they formally ask to be removed from consideration, giving that person time to see how the campaign unfolds before officially announcing a re-election bid for the purpose of fundraising.
I’m not saying that Councilmembers Kalb, McElhaney, or Reid will do that, but they could. The question is, at this point, who’s set to run against them, and who might throw their hat into the ring?
In Oakland City Council District One, which is also known as North Oakland, and also north of I-580, the only Oaklander listed as planning to challenge Dan Kalb is Stephanie Dominguez Walton. Given what she does and did, Walton has and had a good base from which to take on Kalb.
Stephanie Dominguez Walton is a 1990 Pepperdine journalism grad who’s a realtor with Keller Williams Realty and who was the host of “The Lady Brain Show”, a half-hour broadcast on Comcast channels 104 and 819 and Xfinity On Demand.
“The Lady Brain Show”, a talk show with a progressive bent, had such stars as John Krasinski, Susan Sarandon, and Tom Hiddleston. The most recently aired program was on last October; there’s no content reflecting production for this year and her Linkedin profile reads that she stopped the program in 2013 after a five-year run.
That’s why I said “had a good base from which to take on Kalb” – one has to maintain a constant online presence in today’s noisy hyper-media world. That said, Walton could revive “The Lady Brain Show” rather quickly, given the online real estate she has control of.
Walton has enough connections with politically active Oaklanders like Joe Tuman (who ran for Mayor of Oakland in 2010 and 2014), Marcus Osborne, and John Bliss, and was a recent graduate of the Emerge California Program.
Emerge California is a non-profit that trains women for political office, and has produced such talents as Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and San Francisco Mayor London Breed. So, keep an eye on Stephanie Dominguez Walton in the Oakland City Council District One Race for 2020.
Now, who’s going up against Councilmember McElhaney in District Three? Someone named Noel Pico.
Is This Man Noel Pico Oakland?
There’s nothing about Mr. Pico, and as I was searching the City of Oakland website, after an hour of search, I was redirected away from the standard page on candidates like Stephanie Dominguez Walton, and to a page that is from an off-City of Oakland website that tells me nothing. That’s never happened before in Oakland Political History.
As for Noel Pico, the only listing for a Noel Pico in Oakland is an unfortunate one: an arrest history under what’s called “Disobeying Domestic Relations Court Order” and listing that the 44-year-old was arrested 10 times between 2014 and 2019 for the same 273(6)A penal code violation., including three times this year, alone. Maybe Mr. Pico, if this is the same person, was encouraged to enter politics by the many legal entanglements of our current President Trump? Who knows?
Aside from Noel Pico, there’s no other name to take on Lynette for 2020 in District Three. Some have dropped the name of Cat Brooks, who ran for Mayor of Oakland last year (and did well for a first-time politician, coming in second behind the re-elected Mayor Schaaf), but has not officially planted her flag in that race, or any race to date.
What Will Larry Reid Do In District Seven Or Is It His Daughter’s Turn?
As of now, on paper, or website, it looks like the legendary District Seven Oakland City Councilmember Larry Reid is set to step down and make way for his accomplished daughter Treva Reid. But the truth is, Treva’s had her hat in the ring before, and her dad elected (excuse the pun) to run for reelection.
If Larry doesn’t run for reelection, Treva’s up against a tough customer in Robert “Bishop Bob” Jackson. Senior Pastor of Acts Full Gospel Church of God in Christ, at 1034 66th Avenue, “Bishop Bob” courts enough weight to land the District Seven Seat. “Bishop Bob” would land Paul Cobb and the Oakland Post as his personal publishing house, and auto-enlist his church members to get him into Oakland City Hall.
And who is Tyrone Stevenson? Tyrone Stevenson is the Executive Director of The Original Scraper Bike Team Inc. His Linkedin bio reads “Tyrone Stevenson Jr., CEO and Founder of the Scraper Bike Movement have worked passionately with under privileged youth. Tyrone started the Scraper Bike Movement; a tricked-out homemade bicycle style back when he was a troubled 13-year old. Tyrone ran with his passion with hopes to empower and build up a supportive community.” https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyrone-stevenson-9b069237/
Rebecca Kaplan’s a Shoe-In For Oakland City Council At-Large
Frank Ogawa and Henry Chang were the last two Oaklanders to hold the Oakland City Council At-Large Seat; neither ever lost a bid for re-election. That achievement has continued with Rebecca Kaplan, who’s combination of media, political intelligence, and longevity makes her a possible candidate for the 2022 Oakland Mayoral Race. That’s not to say Kaplan will not be challenged, but who could beat her?
Next time, we’ll focus on the Oakland School Board Races.
Stay tuned. And if you have any info on others who are planning to run for any one of those races, please share the news either via email [email protected] or below in the comments section, if you want your news to be public.